Slate, Reason disclose staff voting intentions

11/5/12 9:25 AM EST

Staffers at Slate have disclosed which presidential candidate they intend to vote for. Twenty-nine intend to vote for President Obama, two intend to vote for Mitt Romney. Two others said they would vote for Gary Johnson (the Libertarian candidate), Jill Stein (the Green Party candidate), and one said "no one."

A loyal Republican reader emails:

Big kudos to Slate for stating who its staff is supporting. You know I support for Romney, but credit to Slate and these writers for telling their readers their politics – makes the readers that much more informed.

Reason.com ran similar disclosures two weeks ago, and you can see how this sort of thing might become a small trend, though I doubt it ever permeates up to organizations like the New York Times or NBC News. Reporters there and elsewhere are expected to provide fair and unbiased political coverage, regardless of party preference. The decision to disclose would give the impression of bias where, arguably, there wasn't any, and thus provide ammunition to critics. (Certainly willing to hear the counterargument on that one.)

Disclosure: As I've noted here, I am not voting for a presidential candidate, nor any of the races/initiatives I've covered on the blog.